Human resource departments have been chartered with the responsibility of protecting the intangible assets of their companies. It is the knowledge and skills of the workers that establish the true strategic advantage in any firm. In order to retain intangible assets of human capital, HR managers must respond to both the employee’s personal and professional needs. Read the rest of this entry »
Archive for the ‘Essays’ Category
Changing Demands: The Workforce of Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
In Essays on December 4, 2011 at 6:46 pmAustralia’s Solution to Disability Discrimination Enforcement
In Essays on November 25, 2011 at 11:02 amI. Introduction
Until recently, Australian disability discrimination law was similar to that of the United States and much of the rest of the world: it defined disability relatively narrowly, its penalties for noncompliance were relatively paltry, and it depended on enforcement of lawsuits brought by aggrieved private citizens. Read the rest of this entry »
Creating Stronger Diversity Initiatives in Employment Settings
In Essays on November 4, 2011 at 12:06 pmAbstract: This article explores the common problems associated with ineffective diversity initiatives and what steps a firm can take to cultivate a successful plan. Read the rest of this entry »
Training Ethical Decision Makers
In Essays on September 8, 2011 at 11:47 amCorporate ethics training, to be effective, must go beyond informing employees of laws and policies the firm expects them to comply with. Rather, its chief goal should be to equip and encourage employees to make sound ethical decisions. Read the rest of this entry »
Making ‘Cents’ of Temps: The Costs and Benefits of Contingent Workers
In Essays on May 16, 2011 at 10:15 amIn the past year, seasonally adjusted temporary employment in the United States has grown by an average of 25,000 jobs per month, as businesses exercised greater caution in post-recession hiring.[i] Research suggests that this increase in temporary employment is anything but temporary. Read the rest of this entry »
HR: More than a Glorified Party Planner
In Essays on May 2, 2011 at 8:51 amHuman Resources as a function is not broadly recognized for the significant role that it plays in the development and execution of corporate business strategy because, in many cases, it plays more of a facilitator role than a director role. Read the rest of this entry »
Human Factors in Information-Age Trade Secret Protection
In Essays on April 21, 2011 at 7:54 pmTrade secret information security involves a multi-dimensional array of human, legal, and technological factors.[1] I argue that organizational culture, employee policies, and other human factors are fundamental prerequisites to the successful implementation of legal and technological security measures. Read the rest of this entry »
Forward-Thinking: HR’s Path to Improving its Worth
In Essays on April 11, 2011 at 2:35 pmHuman Resources has only just begun to move past its transactional roots into a truly strategic and value-adding role. Popular television characters like Toby from NBC’s The Office have all but glamorized HR, leaving individuals with a somewhat negative perception of the Human Resources function. Read the rest of this entry »
The Changing Workforce
In Essays on April 5, 2011 at 10:06 amAs the world is always changing and the need for talent is more competitive than ever, businesses are finding themselves in need of attracting and retaining key talent that will drive growth domestically and internationally. As a part of any talent management strategy, companies should look at offering various ways to do work for their employees, especially their high performers. Read the rest of this entry »
Motivating Employees in R&D
In Essays on October 30, 2010 at 11:08 amA new medicine can take as long as 15 years to develop and may cost a pharmaceutical research company $1.3 billion or more from the laboratory to the pharmacy shelf.[1] The research environment is very different from most other jobs for a host of reasons: the high degree of uncertainty in the research process, the accessibility of individual contributions, and the unpredictable impact of any given final product. Read the rest of this entry »
